Master of Arts in Sociological Practice

The mission of the Master of Arts  in Sociological Practice at Cal State San Marcos is to provide a superior academic and professionally use­ful master’s degree education to students with interests in working in the human services and criminal justice agen­cies in their com­muni­ties, or to stu­dents who plan for teaching careers at the community college level, or to continue their study for a Ph.D. degree. 

The MA in Sociological Practice includes theory and methods, field experience in human service, criminal justice environments, and applied research.  The program prepares students for a range of careers in which profes­sionals are required to provide needed services to clients, and to administer and evaluate programs in human ser­vices and criminal justice agencies.

In the 1990s, the most valuable master’s level program in soci­ology that could be offered by an institu­tion is one with an applied focus. In addition, a solid program in theory, research, and the study of various sectors of the society to which human services and crimi­nal justice agencies serve needs, will offer stu­dents an intellectually rigorous and professionally valuable experience.

Applied work is sufficiently cen­tral to the discipline of sociology that we would also be able to accept a small number of students with intentions to continue on to a Ph.D. program in sociology who would be required to fulfill more extensive research and writing requirements by completing a master’s thesis.  The faculty have been selected to represent the major areas of the human services and criminal justice sectors — aging and gerontology, the soci­ology of health and mental health, criminology and juvenile delin­quency, and family and commu­nity studies.  They are engaged in and committed to teaching and research in these fields and to having students gain field experi­ence in these areas.  In addi­tion, the program is uniquely pre­pared to offer courses in the study of differences in ethnicity, race, gen­der, and
age and how these qualities may affect values and practices in the human services and criminal justice sectors.  The focus of this program on soci­ological practice — applying sociologically informed policies to current social problems confron­ting the commu­nity with developing sensitivity to multi­cultural, gender, and age dif­ferences  — places this program at the heart of the founding Mission Statement of Cal State San Marcos which states:  “The goal is to enable students to realize their potentialities as enlightened indi­viduals and productive mem­bers of society in a world of change.”

Preparation and Training Offered by the Department

The Master of Arts degree in Sociological Practice has been designed primarily as a terminal degree for students seeking careers in the human services or criminal justice sectors.  The emphases in the program are:

1. developing critical reasoning in the area of delivering human and criminal justice services;
2. practically applying social theory to the development and appraisal of social policies;
3. learning effective communication skills to become strong advocates for sociologically informed decision-making;
4. acquiring advanced research skills in applied and evaluation research, using both quantitative and qualitative methods; and
5. appreciating the varying perspectives and value differences of those from different  gender, race, ethnic, class, and age groups.

These educational emphases will provide students with a very strong background, thus enabling them to contribute to community-based organizations and agencies in the human services and criminal justice sectors.  In addition, a small number of students with strong academic records and ambitions to complete the Ph.D. degree will be admitted to the program.  These students com­pleting this program as preparation for entry to a Ph.D. program will complete a master’s thesis. 

Admission and Application Requirements

Successful applicants to this pro­gram will have an undergraduate major in sociology, or at least four upper-division courses of 3-4 units in sociology, including courses in both socio­logical theory and research methods and at least one under­gradu­ate course in statistics.  Applicants should have sufficient computing skills relevant to com­pleting graduate work in sociology.  Admission decisions will be affected by the appro­priateness of the under­graduate training to the dimen­sions of this program as well as by the educa­tional and career inten­tions of the applicants.  Applicants must have an undergraduate academic record with a grade point average of at least 3.0 in the last 60 units of undergraduate study.  In addition, an average of 3.0 is expected in upper-division sociology courses.

Although there may be variation in the minimal cut-off from year to year, it is expected that successful appli­cants would need a combined verbal and quantitative score of 1000 on the general test.

A complete application consists of:

Application Materials sent directly to the Admission Office of Cal State San Marcos

• A completed application form for admission to Cal State San Marcos
• Application fee
• One set of official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended, with indication of graduation

Application Materials sent directly to the Sociology Department (see address below)

• a completed application form;
• one set of official transcripts of the undergraduate record from all institutions to which the candidate attended, with indication of an undergradu­ate degree;
• a statement describing the applicant’s (1) educational, research, and work experiences relevant to this program, and (2) educational and career aspirations and goals;
• one formal writing sample that met an academic requirement;     
• GRE test scores (optional); and
• three letters of recommendation.

Application materials sent directly to the Sociology Department Administrative Coordinator at: California State University, San Marcos, San Marcos, CA  92096-0001.

Application Deadlines:

• March 15th for admission in the Fall Semester.

However, applications will be accepted for review as long as space is available in the program.

Degree Requirements

The program is based on 36 semester units (12 courses) of study, of which at least 33 are at the graduate level (500-600).  Most students will complete a six-unit (2-course) field placement sequence with a research project.  Students seeking continuing study at a Ph.D.-granting program will complete a master’s thesis and will replace the six-unit field placement with a six-unit thesis research sequence.  The thesis will be supervised by a com­mittee and defended at a final oral examination. A full-time student taking three courses in each semester would be able to complete the degree in two years.  The GPA in the graduate program must be at least 3.0 to graduate.  Units earned not in residence at Cal State San Marcos may not exceed six, and must be approved by the student’s advisor and the graduate program coordinator.

Students may take one 400-level course that is approved by the graduate program committee.  Students may also take one 600-level independent study course that is approved by the graduate program committee.

Course of Study

Students in full-time attendance will proceed with the graduate coursework in the following manner:

First Year, First Semester

SOC 501

SOC 515

SOC 610

First Sear, Second Semester

SOC 620

SOC 630

Seminar

Second Year, First Semester

SOC 575

SOC 670 or

SOC 690

Seminar

Second Year, Second Semester

SOC 640

SOC 675 or

SOC 695

Seminar

Seminar courses include graduate Sociology courses described as seminars.  Three units at the 400-level may be substituted for a seminar, with approval by the graduate program committee.  An independent study (600-level) course may also substitute for seminar(s), with approval by the graduate program committee.

Part-time students can select two courses per semester to complete the program in three years.

Continuation

Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA and  a grade of at least C in all classes; if the GPA falls below 3.0 for two semesters, the student will be dropped from the program.  Students must be continuously enrolled unless they apply for a leave of absence.  Students who are not continuously enrolled, or who have a leave of absence of longer than two semesters, must petition the program for continuation.  All requirements for the degree are to be finished within five years after the beginning of any coursework in the graduate program. 

A project proposal is required to complete SOC 670 and the final project paper is required to complete SOC 675; the proposal and final paper must be approved by three sociology faculty members.  SOC 675 is typically completed at the end of the second year for full-time students and must be completed by the end of the fifth year; students who have completed all coursework except SOC 675 will enroll in SOC 700 to maintain continuous enrollment.  Students electing to do a thesis meet these requirements through a parallel sequence of SOC 690, SOC 695, and SOC 700.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students will have a graduate program advisor from among the faculty selected on the basis of their likely area of interest and concentration.  Stu­dents will work closely with their advisors in the selection of courses and research topics.  Students in the standard program will have as their research supervisors their graduate program advisor and the faculty mem­ber offering SOC 670.  They will have been advanced to candidacy once they have developed a research plan in SOC 670.  Students following the thesis option will have a three-member faculty committee which will include their graduate program advi­sor. This thesis committee will assist the student in the development of the thesis proposal and will serve as the committee for the oral examination once the thesis is completed.  Students who will complete a thesis will have been advanced to candidacy once their thesis research proposal has been accepted by their faculty thesis com­mittee, normally at the conclusion of SOC 690.